NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: MAPLE LEAFS v HURRICANES

May 19, 2002

Arturs Irbe

Niclas Wallin

NICLAS WALLIN: Well, I don't know.

NICLAS WALLIN: Well, I brought the puck and I kind of saw a hole there, so I took a step in and he gave it back. They had something, I don't know what it was, but then I had it.

NICLAS WALLIN: I'll take it.

NICLAS WALLIN: (Smiles) I don't know, I mean, I'm lucky to be here. I'm happy to be on the ice and get the chance to play. Ward had a good shot before, and anybody can score the game-winner.

ARTURS IRBE: Well, we'll deal with it. Obviously I'm not ready for a playoff shutout. It worked out, so I'm going to take it. So, maybe we win 1-0 and get a little bit confident, that way we kept doing it our own way, you know, which is always tough battles and going through the adversity. Yeah, we gave up the win in regulation with seven and a half seconds to go. We came back strong in overtime. Maybe a little bit slow at the beginning and then picked up the pace and showed what our team is made of.

ARTURS IRBE: It is still anybody's game. We are obviously lucky to be tied in the series because we were down and so it's now best out of five, really. So they have home ice advantage, but you have seen through out the playoffs that it can be home ice advantage in one round and in the second round it can become your nemesis. We'll just take the win and go to Toronto with the same idea, plugging away and trying to squeak out a win.

NICLAS WALLIN: We knew that before; that this was going to be a really tight series. A lot of battling the whole game. I don't know how many shots we had, but it's going to be a grinding game the whole series. Our game, we've got to get the puck deep and get forechecking going and drive the net and score goals.

ARTURS IRBE: I was waiting for this one to come. (Laughter) I wasn't expecting that big of an audience, though. They are on their down time, obviously, and next year is a big year. I'm retiring after playoffs, the pads and the gloves, so hopefully my favorite company will come up with something similar that I feel so comfortable with. They are five years old, basically with some alterations and changes, facial lifts and liposuction and you name it. There have been some internal organs obviously exchanged. (Laughter). They keep doing the job, and obviously they have become a very integral part of my body, I can say, because I know when the puck bounces off any of those pieces of my equipment, I know where it's going to go or it's going to be there underneath and it's going to be flat or it's going to be on the side. It's an unbelievable feeling. If you haven't had that kind of old pair of shoes, you don't know the feeling. Everybody has an old pair of shoes that's so comfortable, it's falling apart but you don't want to give it up.

ARTURS IRBE: Anybody could have said anything, but it just could not happen to a nicer guy. We were really excited to see him score the big goal in the first overtime goal that he scored, and now tonight, we were a little bit laid back. We were kind of expecting him to do that. (Laughter). Really, it's just exciting to see that everybody contributes, and that's playoff hockey at its best. You don't know what you are going to get in overtime. What else can be more exciting, more crucial. Every play is important. He just made the right decision, stepped in, shot at the net. It wasn't pretty; it came off I guess somebody's shin pan pad, and now he's saying it's pretty, but I'll take his word for that. (Laughter).

NICLAS WALLIN: Well, like I said before, in Montreal, I'm not a goal scorer. In practice, I can score some goals, but in game time, I never get the chances. Now I've had two goals, overtime goals, and it's just unbelievable.

ARTURS IRBE: Well, we know that he's an offensive threat every time he crosses the blue line, with his inside-out move and how quickly he can shift and get an open shooting lane. He can release it as fast as anybody in this league, so I'm really focusing on being in the right position. Our defensemen are doing a very good job of keeping the gap very small; that he doesn't have much room. He might have room to shoot, but he doesn't have time to really aim as well. If we are going to give him much time, he is going to capitalize on it sooner or later. It's team work. Everybody chips in.

ARTURS IRBE: Well, I guess it's the one where he got the puck across and tried to bring it in the middle. I saw two-on-one, and the defenseman took the pass away early, and as the players got closer to the net, their forwards were a little bit farther apart than you usually see in a two-on-one break. There was a nice dish which gave time for Sundin to settle the puck and make a decision what he's going to do, but it also gave me time to get across. Because he was getting close to the net, I tried to take away the short side by stacking the pads and he was coming across. Luckily we have done it a thousand times in practice, those short, close, tight two-on-ones. I just took the middle away, and obviously got my arm out, to stick out and kept it as strong as I can. Like I said, all of those workouts after games and in the off-season, it worked out. I could hold it back and obviously squeeze the puck and get the whistle.